Chapter 219: Why Only Seventy Percent?
After hearing Lynn's words, Dudu fell silent.
After a long pause, he sincerely said, "I understand. I won't disappoint you."
Lynn nodded.
"Good. I have high hopes for you. Also, though you didn't ask, I won't let you be at a disadvantage working for me. Besides your basic salary, your income will also include position allowances, performance bonuses, equity incentives, and more..."
"Once you've worked for me for over a year, I'll even pay you seniority wages, which is an additional sum based on your years of service."
"That much?"
Dudu was stunned.
Although he possessed a business acumen superior to most ordinary people, commercial operations and models of this era were still very primitive.
While the concept of a professional manager existed, most professional managers of this era earned fixed salaries, so they performed their duties without striving for exceptional results. Expecting them to work hard to earn money for their boss was out of the question.
Bosses of this era had also tried many ways to make professional managers work desperately, but these were nothing more than deception and threats. Not a single boss thought of genuinely sharing tangible benefits with their professional managers.
Therefore, even for Lynn, who wasn't a business tycoon in his original world, casually mentioning a few terms and case studies from the internet would be a "dimensionality reduction attack" in this world.
So, Lynn believed that with Dudu's business acumen, combined with his own knowledge of business concepts far ahead of this world, establishing a massive business empire was only a matter of time.
"Since you're already my subordinate, you can now tell me, how exactly did you get those spices?"
"Actually, I know a few elves. They live outside the city and happen to know how to concoct elven spices."
As Dudu said this, Lynn understood.
Although Novigrad wasn't as extreme now as it would be later.
There still existed deep prejudice and exclusion towards elder races.
Customers certainly wouldn't pay for "elven spices."
Who would be interested in the goods of a defeated foe?
But if customers were told that these spices came from Zerrikania, O'Fier, etc.—countries most might never visit in their lifetime—even if they didn't know if the spices were any good, interested customers would still be willing to pay to try them.
And so, Dudu and those elves reached an agreement.
The elves were responsible for making the elven spices.
Dudu was responsible for buying the raw materials needed to make the spices and selling the elven spices.
After deducting all costs, Dudu and the elves split the remaining money 30/70.
Dudu took three-tenths, and the elves took seven-tenths.
Lynn picked up the last piece of meat in his bowl.
"I have another question. Why were you running errands for those elves, buying bread for them? Do you have to do that too?"
Dudu stacked the finished bowls and plates.
"If they went out to spend money every day, what do you think others living in the same village as them would think? Those elves are not only afraid of poverty but even more afraid of wealth."
"Poverty would claim their lives through hunger and cold, but wealth would make all the surrounding humans resent them."
Lynn sighed.
Envy those who have, laugh at those who have not.
Add in populism.
That's a full stack of buffs.
People of this era generally adhered to the "non-my-kind, their-hearts-must-be-different" philosophy.
Note, "my kind" here doesn't refer to humanity as a whole, but is infinitely divisible based on national and regional lines.
In some respects, the Witcher world had even surpassed the medieval period of his home world.
For example, formaldehyde already existed in this world.
Whereas in Lynn's home world, this chemical solution wasn't synthesized and applied until the 19th century.
However, in terms of intellectual liberation, the Witcher world was not much different from the medieval period of his home world, and perhaps even more stagnant than the actual Middle Ages.
After all, in this world, monsters, magic, curses, non-human races, and so on truly exist...
And to dispel this long-lasting darkness, it would require passing through the two great fires of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.
Only then could light be achieved.
Of course, these are future goals, too far to discuss in detail now, so we'll set them aside for the moment.
.....
The two walked out of "The Golden Sturgeon" side by side. Dudu asked.
"When do you want me to start working for you?"
"In a few days, perhaps. No rush."
In business, information is also a crucial component.
And the source of that information would have to rely on the beggars recruited by the "Syndicate."
In the original novels, Dudu made a significant profit by always getting information one step ahead of others.
Once the "Syndicate" had recruited a considerable number of beggars, using the information gathered by those beggars would naturally make business twice as effective.
"If you don't have anything else to do, why don't you come with me to get my friend out of jail?"
"You can transform into that thug you beat earlier, right?"
"If you transform into him and then go to City Hall to withdraw the case and write a letter of understanding or something, my friend can be released."
"As for that thug, you don't need to worry. He can no longer harm anyone."
Dudu understood the implied meaning in the witcher's words.
So he nodded and said.
"I'd be glad to, sir..."
"Ha, I'm no sir. My friends call me Lynn, you can too."
"Alright, Lynn, I'd be glad to help you with this, but... I have a friend. Can I involve him as well?"
"Your friend? Is he also a doppler?"
"Yes, he's at my house."
In the original novels and The Witcher 3, Novigrad didn't just have Dudu as a doppler.
Lynn had probably already guessed who Dudu's friend was.
.....
Dudu's home was also outside the city.
As the Pearl of the North, Novigrad's housing prices were so high that ordinary workers couldn't afford them.
Therefore, many people chose to build their own homes outside Novigrad, and over time, these formed villages.
As for why not live in the slums?
That's because, of course, not everyone is willing to sacrifice living space and the right to sunlight.
Moreover, it was also easier to hide one's identity as a doppler in the villages outside the city.
Hearing the door open, Shasha said without turning his head, "You're back, Dudu. Why so early today?"
"I ran into a bit of a situation."
"Are you alright?" Shasha turned around, then he was surprised to find that there were two people in the house.
"Wait, who is he? Why did you bring an outsider back? And a witcher at that?"
.....
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